1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to mixing and dispensing equipment and, more particularly, pertains to a blending system for blending of dry materials such as fertilizer in the agricultural environment.
2. Description of Prior Art
The prior art blending systems consist of four parts including a batch hopper, two conveyors or augers, and a rotary mixer. The batch hopper consists of a hopper resting on a scale which substantially approximates the same volume as the rotary mixer. The batch hopper is utilized to measure the various dry ingredients, and when a batch is complete, the conveyor is started and the material is moved into the mixer. The mixer is substantially constructed similar to a cement mixer and the material is moved into the mixer, rotated a few minutes, and then the mixer drum is reversed in an opposite direction, the material is discharged onto a second conveyor for conveying to the point of discharge. Sometimes the batch hoppers may not have a scale and the material is then measured either by bulk, on a front-end loader by volume, or by individual bags which is less than desirable and time consuming.
Another type of prior art device is a blending tower which blends material, usually only two materials, through gravity feed but which is less than desirable as there are usually high concentrations of materials which are not blended and result in uneven blend of materials as well as concentrations of unmixed materials.
Another prior art device is the screw conveyor mixer where materials are put into a blender and rotatable augers are positioned inside the blender which when rotated move the material from one end to the other end of the blender. The blend is then discharged onto a conveyor or other loading device for loading onto a vehicle.
All of the prior art devices require considerable energy in the form of horsepower to move the material, considerable time, and a resultant consumption of electricity per unit which is large. Electric motors are usually required to move the drum mixers or screw augers in addition to the conveyors, all resulting in consumption of kilowatt hours which becomes more expensive due to rising rates of fuel. Further, considerable time is required in the mixing process, which means that other batches cannot be mixed until the first batch is moved or transported to either a holding facility or to the end point such as the bed of a dump truck, spreader truck, etc. Further, the prior art has considerable moving parts which require continued maintenance due to the abrasive and corrosive nature of the material which is usually fertilizer or a like substance. Moving parts not only consume energy but also require maintenance resulting in additional expense.
The present invention overcomes the disadvantages of the prior art by providing a gravity flow system through baffle cells in addition to having a least number of moving components, thereby requiring least maintenance and consumption of energy.